Tag Archives: babywearing

This year the 2016 Bluegrass for Babies Benefit Concert will feature live bluegrass performances by:

the Hocking River String Band

Comet Bluegrass All-Stars

Plus Hickory Robot and Jennifer Ellis will provide a special kids performance!

You can grab some Dewey’s Pizza, Grateful Grahams, or streetpops, and a beverage from MadTree Brewing. Further, the community partners listed on their site will have crafts games at their booths! Keep on reading to find out what we’ll have at the Modern Breastfeeding + Education booth!

Creating blurbs describing what is included in a GREAT childbirth education class is NOT easy for me.

After teaching for six years, being trained in various methodologies and attending over 120 births as a birth doula, and a Master’s degree; it is hard for me to tell you exactly how a class will shape itself.

Sometimes those who attend shape the class, whether they are second (or more) time parents, those pursuing VBACs (Vaginal birth after cesarean), single moms by choice, or those pregnant with multiples, in addition to the normal group of first-time, expectant parents.

Other times it is the teacher and their experience or methodology shaping what should be an individual event – something that simply isn’t one size fits all.

So let’s talk about:

What’s covered in a childbirth education class, what you will find in MY childbirth education classes that sets them apart, and as always, how to find a great instructor in your area if you aren’t located in the Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern KY areas.

What to expect, before, during & after delivery. This should include the stages of labor, coping skills and strategies (even if you plan on an epidural), and labor positions. You will also discuss postpartum healing, the beginning of breastfeeding, and it should help your partner learn how to support you.

In a GREAT class:

You should also have time to discuss interventions versus intercessions, i.e. learn about the myriad of tools you can have in labor either by choice or by necessity. This refers to inductions, augmentation of labor, epidurals and spinals, and of course, family centered cesarean births. You can also learn when you don’t need those same tools in labor, or alternatives to those tools in natural, normal births. You should get to practice labor itself, combining the tools you have learned in a real world way.

After all, complicated situations can arise, and while a class cannot turn you into a medical care provider (nor even replace your nurse or doula!) it can give you the tools to make decisions as a team during an emotional and physical event. Further, you will understand what nurses and medical care providers are explaining to you or asking you while you are in labor.

A standard class should:

Prepare you for what happens when you are laboring at home, when you arrive at the hospital, and discuss the things to pack.

A GREAT class:

Will also discuss nutrition in pregnancy, preparing you for your GD screening (Gestational diabetes glucose test), weight gain during pregnancy and weight loss post-delivery, practice exercises that help your pelvis and pelvic floor prepare for birth, and help you in creating birth imagery that specifically helps you.

It should also help you identify how to make medical decisions, address fear surrounding childbirth, and feel like you have been given the tools for postpartum recovery and healing.

The truth is a birth is more likely to go smoothly when we are prepared to discuss the fears we have ahead of time, as well as what pain means, and how we deal with it. We shouldn’t be afraid to discuss pain with each other as women.

Being a part of the decision making at your birth is what makes the “4th trimester” an easier shift for you as a family.

Finally, while a standard childbirth education class should cover breastfeeding in the first hour / hours after birth …

A GREAT childbirth education class should address breastfeeding as the full time reality it is – starting at the first hour after birth.

I am not shy; I DO think we create a GREAT class together. It has morphed over the years into something that is student led, partner* focused, and psychologically helpful to those welcoming a new addition to their household.

If you would like more information on what each of the six weeks include, contact me! In addition to the class itself, you will get access to a password protected site with extra links, videos, and local resources. We will also have an optional reunion class after everyone has given birth to process our stories together! And of course, class six is a full Breastfeeding Basics class itself.

Come and see how a GREAT class can help change the conversation you have about your birth, your confidence about your birth, and you and your baby’s healthy outcome – which is the MOST important thing!

*Whatever that means to you, all ranges of single-mom’s by choice are welcome, as are LGBTQA families.

Not in the Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern KY areas? Here is a link to finding a great instructor in your area!

Psychologically speaking you weren’t ready to learn about baby care until now! Until 36/37 weeks gestation, most first time parents are consumed with what is going on in their body and life changes; being immersed in all of that is completely normal. Then there is a shift, where suddenly you do care more about the postpartum part, the feeding and diapering. The worry about sleep. The nesting is over and the wait for the “after baby” part sets in.

Oh My Goodness. I’ve never even changed a diaper.

(It’s ok! Again, this is completely normal. You’ll be an expert after 3.)

Seek out a Newborn Care Class! Although the majority of first time parents get most of their information from Dr.Google, friends, and family members, did you know that getting information together helps facilitate the stages of parenting that occur after birth?

In a class you can ask questions that are individually suited to your family’s needs. You can practice changing that diaper, learn about baby wearing and other soothing techniques, feeding expectations, and when to call a doctor or a lactation specialist.

More than that, in Modern Breastfeeding + Education’s Newborn Baby Care Class we help you learn about each other. Facilitating communication, partner and baby bonding, protecting the core relationship as parents, and the “new normal” that is bringing in a roommate who needs 24/7 care.

And learn about sleep. Sleep is real life guys.

I hope you’ll join us, and if you aren’t local to the Cincinnati, Dayton, or Northern Kentucky areas, here’s a helpful list of questions to use when finding any perinatal class locally, that is right for you!

Welcome to the new Modern Breastfeeding + Education! This new site is a way to get easy access to prenatal education classes, in person individualized lactation support, and community resources such as our All Moms postpartum group series.

But first, it’s Giveaway Week to celebrate the launch of the site!

Normal online rules apply:
* Must subscribe to the Modern Breastfeeding + Education Newsletter
* Have to like and follow on Facebook AND Instagram. (Pinterest, Twitter, and Linked-In are optional, but have a ball.)
* Then, subsequently comment and/or share me on one of the above platforms for **that day’s** prize. You don’t have to comment or share on both, just one, Facebook or Instagram.
* Giveaway promotion starts **Monday, August 1st**, with prizes announced each day on Facebook AND Instagram, along with the winner from the previous day. I don’t want to clog up feeds too much.

ETA (Edited to Add): I’ve received questions on how I’m choosing winners and whether or not someone who has previously won can win again. The answer is YES. I’m pretty anal and love excel spreadsheets, so I’m doing this old school. Names are entered into a list once you share or comment on the post. Each day’s list starts anew. Then, after I double check that you’re following me on both facebook and Instagram, as well as subscribing to the newsletter, I ask my older son to pick a number between 1-however long the list is. I know, it makes me sound like a luddite, which I secretly am. I hope that helps, sounds truly anonymous and fair to all!

DAY ONE: Monday, August 1st

DAY TWO: Tuesday, August 2nd

DAY THREE: Wednesday, August 3rd

DAY FOUR: Thursday, August 4th

DAY FIVE: Friday, August 5th

DAY SIX: Saturday, August 6th

DAY SEVEN: Sunday, August 7th

Day Seven IS announced! Because it’s fun and big and for parents AND little ones.